For flexible cutting tool production, Seco-Carboloy relies on machine tools from Mori Seiki.
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE economy is forcing companies to make their production facilities more flexible, and cutting tool manufacturer Seco-Carboloy of Warren, Mich., is no exception. The company's personnel are expected to not only work two machines but also come completely out of their sections and work at different ones. There's a lot of cross training on products, but Seco-Carboloy keeps it to a minimum by using mainly Mori Seiki machine tools throughout its facility.
Seco-Carboloy purchased its first Mori Seiki, an MV-40, in 1989 and now boasts 24 different machines. The Mori Seiki's let the company do more with less. A telling example is that Seco-Carboloy has increased its number of line items produced by 10% while also reducing its workforce.
The machines also give the cutting tool company more flexibility to handle smaller batch sizes and more reactivity in terms of its stock support. Although it is not producing the same overall volume, the company does much more setting up, and the Mori Seikis let them do this with fewer people.
For Seco-Carboloy, Mori Seiki machines reduce costs associated with downtime and maintenance. They do so by letting the company handle most of its maintenance in-house.
"We have probably handled 99% of everything that we have encountered," says Clark Squire of Seco-Carboloy. "The Mori Seiki machines are the easiest to work on because of the documentation — information available from Mori Seiki is unsurpassed."
Not only does this documentation make maintenance easy, so too does the information sharing between Seco-Carboloy, Mori Seiki, and distributor J & H Machine Tools. "We've received excellent phone support from J & H and Mori Seiki," says Squire. He adds that most parts come the next day with little leadtime, and that means shorter downtime.
"In the past three years, we haven't had a Mori Seiki or J & H technician in," boasts Squire. "We've been able to handle everything ourselves."
Mori Seiki
DALLAS
moriseiki.com
